Hopper-car door



w. SHEEHAN HOPPER CAR DOOR Apr. 3, 1923.

Filed Nov. 11

Patented Apr. 3, i923.

WILL IE. fiHlEEHAN, OE .S'I'. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGN'GH T9 CQTdMOXiWEhLTH STEEL COMPANY, F 8T. LOUIS, MISSQUBI, A. CORPGEAIEQE 0F HEW JEltSEY.

norrnnrcsn noon.

Application filed November 11 1922. fierial 3H0. 6%,38 6,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WrLLrAM M. SHEEHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at.

'St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and seful Improvement 1n Hopper- Car Doors, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, such as will enable others, skilled in the art to which it appertains, tomake and use the same, reierence being had to the accompanying drawa rigid door having suitable hinge butts,

reinforcements and operating mechanism brackets, without reducing the clearance of the-door above the rails and without raising the bottom of the hopper or decreasing the desirable dimensions tor these parts.

I employ a cast door to attain these ob jects andam thus enabled to provide an efficient design of reinforcements and other parts, without being limited hp standard sizes of structural shapes, the ocation of rivets or bolts, and without interrupting the smooth upper surface of the door.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a selected embodiment of my invention,- a

Figure 1 is a top view of my improved doo'r.

Figure '2 is a side view thereof.

Figure 3 is a transverse section through a hopper car showing the door in raised position and sectioned on the lefthand side and showing the door in lowered position w ss seen from one end thereof on the righthand side.

As above mentioned, the door preferably consists of a one-piece casting having a smooth hopper closure portion 1, one ed e of which is curved upwardly at 2, where y the hopper capacity is increased, and binge I butts 3 are formed along this upwardly curved edge of the door. A reinforcing rib 4 is formed at each side of the door and extends across the side thereof from front to rear. Intermediate the sides of the door, ribs 5 are provided. each merging into one of the hinge butts 3. Risinforcing ribs 6 are provided intermediate the door front and rear and merge into ribs sand 5 where they meet the same.

The front of the door opposite the hinge butts is provided with a downwardly and inwardly'depending flange 7 at the lower end of which a reentrant flange 8 is formed. The door body 1 and flanges 7 and 8 form a box-1ike structure open on one side which afi'ordsa rigid structure for this unhinged end of the door which is unprotected and is subjected to the dropping of material loaded in the car. At the ends of flanges 7 and. 8, the box-like structureis closed by .portions 9 which form an enlargement of the corresponding ends of ribs 4. The angular disposition of rib 7 is such that when the door is open, as shown in the righthand side of Figure 3, the rib will be approximately horizontal and a greater opening of the door is thereby obtained than if the rib was to extend perpendicularly to the door body 1. 4

Formed on the ends the door adjacent .iiange 7 are operating mechanism brackets 10 which are provided with opening-stile axes of which are inclined from the surface of body 1 and extend transversely of the axes of the hinge'butts 3. By forming these brackets 10 integrally with the ends of the door, I avoid the punching of holes in the reinforcing ribs and the twisting of metal which would be the natural result of attempting to apply these brackets to the door if they were separately formed and had to be riveted or otherwise securec thereto.

Whileit would bepossible to apply hinge butts, reinforcements and operating mech anism brackets, which would be separately formed from forgings or the like, in order to secure the samestrength in such parts, it would be necessary to make them heavier than the parts here shown and, in order to secure permanency of assembly, it would be necessary to use a large number of securing means such as rivets or bolts. At best, such an assembly would not provide the rigid con struction resulting from my one-piece door, and the upper surface of the door would have a corresponding number of obstructions to impede the discharge of the material, and to collect air and water which would result in damage from corrosion and freezing.

In addition to these advantages, the door piece casting comprising a hopper closure,

hinge butts. reinforcing ribs, and brackets for attaching operating mechanism.

' 2. A hopper car door consisting of a onepiece casting comprising a hopper closure, reinforcing ribs along two sides and the front thereof, brackets for attaching operating mechanism at the ends of the front flange. a plurality of hinge butts spaced along the fourth side thereof, and reinforcing ribs extendingfrom said hinge butts to the flange on the front of the door.

3. In a one-piece hopper door, hinge butts disposed along one edge thereof, and a de' pending and reentrant flange along the opposite edge ['inforcement open on one side.

4. In a one-piece hopper door, hinge butts disposed along one edge thereof, a depending and reentrant flange along the opposite edge thereof forming a box-like reinforcement open on one side,'and ribs extending thereof forming a box-like re-- through the open side of said reinforceme'm';

transversely of the same andm erging with the other side of said box-like reinforcement.

5. In a one-piece hopper door, hinge butts disposed along one edge thereof, and a reinforcing flange formed on the opposite edge thereof and inclined downwardly and rearw'ardly from the upper face of the door.

6. In a. hopper car, a hinged door, and a reinforcing flange formed on the edge thereof opposite the hinges and inclined down- \vardly and rearwardly from the upper face of the door at an angle which will approximate the horizontal when the door is pen.

7. In a one-piece hopper door, hinge butts disposed along one edge thereof, a depending and reentrant flange along the opposite edge thereof forming a box-like reinforcement open on one side, and operating mechanism brackets formed on the ends of said reinforcement.

8. In a, one-piece hopper car door, a hopper enclosure curved upwardly at one end, hinge butts formed on the edge of said curvedend with their axes substantially above the door plane, brackets formed on the sides of the door near the opposite end thereof and provided with operating mechanism openings having axes disposed transversely of the axes of said hinge butts.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature this 27 day of October, 1922.

WILLIAM M. SHEEHAN. 

